The Other Side

by Olivia Miller

@olive9124

Last week our office hosted five candidates for our second Career Coach position. For the first time as a professional, I was sitting on the other side of the table and was part of the team finding a new person, rather than being the one finding a new job. Leading up to the first interview, I was almost as nervous as when I was interviewing – I was nervous meeting the candidates, asking the questions, and if we would find someone who would fit into our office. To be honest, after reading the resumes I was skeptical (especially for a Career Coach position), and with one candidate it was clear that they were not the right person. One candidate left the search and I immediately had a favorite. On the last day, it was clear that one candidate was above the rest and everyone was excited about the prospect of adding this person to our team.

It was interesting to see this process just a few short months since I was the person being interviewed. After interviewing these four candidates I am even more grateful to have found my fit and professional home with this team and respect their decisions when adding people to our team. One of my favorite parts of my graduate assistantship was leading the hiring process of our student staff, and this was a new side of the hiring process. This was not about hiring student staff that I would lead, supervise and develop, but rather about hiring a coworker and a peer. And yes, the idea of fit was clearly a priority and I have a stronger understanding of why that is vital during the hiring process.

For those of you going through the job search, remember to be yourself and not force the fit. You might not find the right fit with a position and a place that you are excited about, but after going through the process and now being on the other side, it is the people you surround yourself with that will make the difference.